And her name is... Ria Rain!
So beautiful!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Auntie Lissa and Uncle Troy!
My sister had a baby girl yesterday! Both mom and baby are doing well. Laura and Ethan are still trying to decide on a name. They decided once seeing her that she just didn't look like any of the girl names they had been considering.
I am absolutely thrilled to be an auntie. It's really tough to be so far away from my sister at this crucial time in her life but I am thankful again for technology because we were able to Skype with her and to see the baby too! She's simply beautiful. I'll try to get my hands on a picture sometime soon so you can see for yourself.
I am absolutely thrilled to be an auntie. It's really tough to be so far away from my sister at this crucial time in her life but I am thankful again for technology because we were able to Skype with her and to see the baby too! She's simply beautiful. I'll try to get my hands on a picture sometime soon so you can see for yourself.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Beautiful Belly
Most of you know that my sister Laura is pregnant. She is actually due in a few days! Troy's brother Casey's wife Cassie is also pregnant--due in January. We're both really excited to be Auntie Lissa & Uncle Troy!
It's been especially difficult for me to be so far away from my sister at this important time in her life. Thank goodness for Skype and IM! We've been keeping in touch almost daily even despite the long distance between us.
Laura had some photos taken of her pregnant belly a few weeks ago. She used the same photographer that they had at their wedding. The pictures turned out great. My sister--and her belly--are simply gorgeous! I just had to share one.
It's been especially difficult for me to be so far away from my sister at this important time in her life. Thank goodness for Skype and IM! We've been keeping in touch almost daily even despite the long distance between us.
Laura had some photos taken of her pregnant belly a few weeks ago. She used the same photographer that they had at their wedding. The pictures turned out great. My sister--and her belly--are simply gorgeous! I just had to share one.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Orchestrations
Here's a link to the article I wrote for Flanders Today in case you are interested in learning more about musical robots.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Deadlines!
Good news! I was able to find at least a bit of work with Flanders Today, the English language newspaper for the region of Belgium we are living in. I contacted the editor and proposed an article about the Logos Foundation (where Troy is working) and she agreed that it would make a fantastic story. Well, who could say no to an article about a robot orchestra? Strangely, even though they have been in existence for over 40 years, Logos hasn't had a lot of external press.
I'm working on a deadline of Nov. 18 and so is Troy. As most of you know, I tend to be a bit more organized than Troy, so I'm nearly finished and haven't lost a ton of sleep over the deadline. Troy, on the other hand, has been up for most of the last two days working on a piece for tomorrow's Logos concert. He just told me he was going down to use the bathroom and now I hear him snoring. Yikes. Well, I had better go try to wake him up and get back to my story!
I'm working on a deadline of Nov. 18 and so is Troy. As most of you know, I tend to be a bit more organized than Troy, so I'm nearly finished and haven't lost a ton of sleep over the deadline. Troy, on the other hand, has been up for most of the last two days working on a piece for tomorrow's Logos concert. He just told me he was going down to use the bathroom and now I hear him snoring. Yikes. Well, I had better go try to wake him up and get back to my story!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Trying to Work it
It's hard to believe that I've been unemployed now for over 2 months. I've had long periods like this before when we moved to Eugene and when we moved to Virginia. It took forever to find a job each time. Somehow now things seem a little more urgent though. Time is flying and we want to be able to take advantage of our geographic location by traveling to some of the great European cities.
I have been keeping myself very busy, updating my resume, trying to teach myself more about web design, bidding on jobs on elance.com, and following up on a few leads we have gotten from people in Belgium. Hopefully something works out soon.
In the meantime, I've been trying to save money and calm my nerves by cooking. My chocolate "chip" cookies (had to make them with a real Belgian chocolate bar b/c I couldn't find chips) were a huge hit at the dinner party we attended on Sunday. Nobody had eaten cookies like that before and I already got a request for the recipe.
I just made a pot of carrot/ginger soup that turned out really great despite not having a blender or food processor anymore. I used a potato masher to mush it up and realized I kind of prefer chunky to smooth soup. The soup paired perfectly with the aged Gouda we picked up in Amsterdam and some whole-grain bread I bought today. It was a delicious combination, and just what I needed--some fantastically comforting food!
I have been keeping myself very busy, updating my resume, trying to teach myself more about web design, bidding on jobs on elance.com, and following up on a few leads we have gotten from people in Belgium. Hopefully something works out soon.
In the meantime, I've been trying to save money and calm my nerves by cooking. My chocolate "chip" cookies (had to make them with a real Belgian chocolate bar b/c I couldn't find chips) were a huge hit at the dinner party we attended on Sunday. Nobody had eaten cookies like that before and I already got a request for the recipe.
I just made a pot of carrot/ginger soup that turned out really great despite not having a blender or food processor anymore. I used a potato masher to mush it up and realized I kind of prefer chunky to smooth soup. The soup paired perfectly with the aged Gouda we picked up in Amsterdam and some whole-grain bread I bought today. It was a delicious combination, and just what I needed--some fantastically comforting food!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Minnesota Niceness
It's hard to believe that it's nearly a month since we've been home in Minnesota. We had such a fabulous time! It's probably the longest period of time that I've been home since I was 19 years old. We packed a lot of visiting and fun into the time.
Some highlights:
Ahhhh, the sauna
There's an excellent bike trail system right in our backyard that I had never ridden on before. We had a nice day riding with my dad and even ran into Courtney and Kevin's mothers--or as they call them "The moms."
They serve strange things at the Country Kitchen in Virginia, MN!
Here are some pics from our camping trip to Fenske Lake near Ely. What a gorgeous site it was! And we had great weather and a full moon.
I was surprised by how warm the weather was in September and excited to go swimming!
This is him as he reaches and surpasses his goal. I had to point out to him that his pants are too big the other day. He doesn't realize when he loses weight and thought nothing of adding new notches in his belt until I said something about it!
Here we are doing shots of Jag with Troy's family after a party they threw a great party for us at Poor Gary's Pizza. What a fun time! I wish I had more pics, but there were so many people who came out to send us off that I forgot to take pictures for once!
My mom and Tim had a "coffee an'" in our honor. For those of you who aren't from the midwest, this means coffee AND some other things--typically sweets, but my sis also made a taco dip and some tortilla roll-ups with the cream cheese and dried cranberries. Yum. We had a beautiful cake and a great time visiting with everyone.
Some highlights:
- Going up to my grandpa and his wife Alice's cabin.
Ahhhh, the sauna
- Biking with my dad on the Mesabi Trail.
There's an excellent bike trail system right in our backyard that I had never ridden on before. We had a nice day riding with my dad and even ran into Courtney and Kevin's mothers--or as they call them "The moms."
- Visiting with Courtney
- Hanging out with many old friends and meeting a new one.
Lukah Gracy!
They serve strange things at the Country Kitchen in Virginia, MN!
Here are some pics from our camping trip to Fenske Lake near Ely. What a gorgeous site it was! And we had great weather and a full moon.
I was surprised by how warm the weather was in September and excited to go swimming!
My best friends from high school.
- Troy hit 2009 miles!
This is him as he reaches and surpasses his goal. I had to point out to him that his pants are too big the other day. He doesn't realize when he loses weight and thought nothing of adding new notches in his belt until I said something about it!
- Visiting with family
Here we are doing shots of Jag with Troy's family after a party they threw a great party for us at Poor Gary's Pizza. What a fun time! I wish I had more pics, but there were so many people who came out to send us off that I forgot to take pictures for once!
My mom and Tim had a "coffee an'" in our honor. For those of you who aren't from the midwest, this means coffee AND some other things--typically sweets, but my sis also made a taco dip and some tortilla roll-ups with the cream cheese and dried cranberries. Yum. We had a beautiful cake and a great time visiting with everyone.
Us and my fam -- minus Patrick and Shelly :(
My uncle Rob with his wife Dione and their sweet girls, Mahryn and Carina.
Troy and his mom
Grandma Jean and Roy
Ethan and a pregnant Laura :)
Ethan and a pregnant Laura :)
Patrick wasn't able to be at the party but thankfully we had some time to visit with him and with Shelly beforehand.
Patrick and Amelia
Shelly (my step-sister) and her adorable daughter Amelia
On our last day in Minnesota we were lucky to catch up with my aunt Barb and uncle Hank and their family for a bit and then Patrick picked us up and brought us to downtown Minneapolis, where our friends Aaron and Angel have a swanky new pad. We all went out to Brit's Pub for some food and beer. An excellent, final send-off!
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